In the fields of micro- and nano-fabrication it is often advantageous to be able to fabricate in both the micro- and the nano-scale. A microstructural element may, for its intended function, benefit from having a nanostructured surface. For example, nanostructures providing an increased effective surface area are useful for increasing the contact area between a liquid and the surface of a solid material and may be used to facilitate capillary flow through a microfluidic system. However, fabrication processes are often optimized for either the nanoscale or the microscale. It will often be required to apply one process for the nanofabrication process and then another for the microfabrication, and such processes are often very difficult to combine.
Embossing is a frequently used technique for producing microstructures or nanostructures. For example, an embossing tool for producing a given microstructure may be milled in a durable metal with milling tools that will be minimum ˜20 μm in width, whereas a given nanostructure that may be desired to embed into the surface of said microstructure may only be achieved through an embossing tooling process involving for instance UV-lithography followed by chemical etching or direct e-beam writing.